1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk player, and more particularly to a device for opening and closing a lid of an optical disk player, which is adapted to easily open a lid by using a pickup disposed in a player body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, an optical disk player serves to write or read data to or from a disk, and can be currently divided into three types of a tray disk type, a caddy type and a lid type.
As shown in FIG. 1, the lid type of optical disk player is constructed in such a way that a lid 20 is hingedly coupled to a player body 10 provided therein with a pickup 30 so that the lid 20 can be opened and closed with respect to the player body 10.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show a conventional device for opening and closing a lid of an optical disk player.
As depicted in FIGS. 1 to 3, the lid 20, which is hingedly coupled to the player body 10 at its rear end, is provided at a side of its front end with a hook 22 extended downwardly, and the player body 10 is provided with a locking hole 12 at a position corresponding to the hook 22. The player body 10 is also provided with a catcher 40 at the inside of the locking hole 12, which is selectively engaged with the hook 22.
In the conventional optical disk player, the lid 20 is biased to the opened position by a spring (not shown).
The catcher 40 is formed at one end with a connecting hole 42 which is fitted on a center pin 43 such that the catcher 40 can be rotated about the center pin 43. The other end of the catcher 40 is provided with a catching protrusion 44 having a slanted surface inclined downwardly.
A solenoid 50 is formed at rear end of the catcher 40 and a rod of solenoid 52 is coupled to rear end of the catcher 40 so that the catcher 40 can be selectively rotated.
In other words, when the solenoid 50 is supplied with electric current, the rod 52 is retracted rearwardly, thus pulling the catcher 40 rearwardly. On the other hand, when the supply of the current to the solenoid 50 is stopped, the rod 52 is extended forwardly by restoring force of a spring 54 surrounding the rod 52, thereby allowing the catcher 40 to be restored to the normal position.
In this connection, the player body 10 is provided at its front portion with a button 14. Upon pressing the button 14, the solenoid 50 is supplied with electric current. Releasing of the button 14 stops the supply of current to the solenoid 50.
The catcher 40 is provided at its lower surface with a support shaft 46 extended downwardly. A lower end of the support shaft 46 comes into close contact with a bottom surface of the player body 10, thereby preventing the catcher 40 from drooping down.
Furthermore, A limit plate 48 is disposed below the catcher 40 in order to prevent the catcher 40 from being rotated beyond a certain rotating range as the catcher 40 is rotated about the center pin 43.
The limit plate 48 is disposed in the player body 10 with a spacing therebetween, and is provided with a curved side surface 48a along which the support shaft 46 is guided.
In an operation of the conventional device, when the lid 20 is closed, the hook 22 of the lid 20 is inserted into the locking hole 12 of the player body 10, and presses the catching protrusion 44 of the catcher 40 while sliding on the slant surface of the catching protrusion 44.
Therefore, the catching protrusion 44 of the catcher 40 is moved rearwardly and thus rotated about the center pin 43 by the pressure. When the lid 20 is completely closed, the catching protrusion 44 is moved forwardly by the restoring force of the spring 54 and then engages with the hook 22, thereby enabling the lid 20 to be maintained in the closed position.
In order to open the lid 20, the button 14 provided on the player body 10 is pressed. Upon pressing the button 14, the solenoid 50 is supplied with electric current to retract the rod 52, thereby pulling and rotating the catcher 40 rearwardly. As the catcher 40 is rotated, the catching protrusion 44 is released from the engagement with hook 22, so that the lid 20 is opened upwardly by restoring force of a spring.
When a user""s finger releases the button 14, the electric current being supplied to the solenoid 50 is interrupted, so that the catcher 40 is rotated and restored to the normal position by restoring force of the spring 54.
However, since a conventional device for opening and closing a lid requires a number of electric and mechanical components, manufacturing cost of products is increased, and considerable attention must be paid to selection of the various components in the design of products.
Furthermore, since a number of components are required in manufacturing the device, assembling efficiency and productivity are decreased. In addition, rejection rate of products is increased due to tolerances of components, and thus quality of products is deteriorated.
Moreover, since a conventional device for opening and closing a lid includes a catcher disposed in a player body, a space required for operation of the catcher must be added to the player body, thereby increasing dimensions of the player body.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a device for opening and closing a lid of an optical disk player, which is intended to decrease manufacturing cost of products and to improve assembling efficiency and productivity by reduction of components, and which is intended to minimize rejection rate of products by improvement of product quality.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a device for opening and closing a lid of an optical disk player, comprising: a player body provided at its side portion with a button and provided at its upper surface with a locking hole; a lid which is hingedly coupled to an end of the player body to selectively cover the player body, and is biased upwardly by a spring, the lid being provided with a hook projected downwardly therefrom at a location corresponding to the locking hole of the player body; a pickup disposed in the player body to be moved back and forth, which is provided at its side with a pusher extended laterally; a catcher disposed in the player body to be moved back and forth, which is provided at its front end with a catching protrusion to be engaged with the hook and provided at its rear end with a contact plate to be in contact with the pusher, and which includes a connecting rod connected between the catching protrusion and the contact plate; and a spring disposed in the player body to bias the catcher forwardly.